Chads60914
New Member
Hello I work for a corporately owned hospital; I've worked there for almost three years and have never had any complaints from visitors or staff. I work as a security officer there and also as an auxiliary sheriff's deputy in my spare time. On Monday March 9, 2009 we had a patient brought in to the ER by police because the neighbors were called because the woman was standing on top of a dog cage holding a chain saw. This patient is a frequent visitor to the hospital she has been diagnosed with bi-polar/borderline personality disorder. She has been violent in the past and has almost always ended up in medical restraints because of her violent behavior. I was suspended with out pay pending an investigation into the incident we had with her that night. The ER staff called us to the room because the patient was out of control, my partner and I tried to calm her down however she continued her behavior stating she would have her son kill me, that he was a Marine sniper and that when I leave work every night I better watch my back, she was in a kneeling position on the bed with her fists balled up and telling me she was going to kill me. After several verbal attempts to calm her down or try to get her to back down I felt a strike from her was imminent. I felt if I left the room she could possibly harm herself, or grab a weapon, I did not have time to summon any more help either. I decided my best option was to strike her in arm thus making her go backward and lying on the bed where we could more easily control her. Long story short, she was then moved to a "quiet room" and medically restrained. The only people to see the whole incident were myself and my partner, another nurse came in just after I struck the patient as well as the mental health tech. The 4 of us escorted the patient to the other room and placed her in restraints where she continued to be combative, at one point swinging and almost hitting my partner as well as trying to kick both myself and a nurse. I documented the incident as per our policy, the police came because one of the nurses called, they took a report but I did not file assault charges because in our county it is very hard to get charges to stick when someone is mentally ill. A few days later I was called into my boss's office and told that the patient's daughter called to complain that her mother was mistreated. I reiterated to my boss what happened; she even said the caller didn't know the names of staff involved. Now 2 weeks later as I was clocking in I was called into a meeting with the HR head, our director and my boss. I was told I would be suspended without pay pending an investigation. A few more facts the incident is on video, not inside the room but the location of all staff that night, who again were all at the nurses station for a majority of the incident, approximately 40 feet away. The patient was admitted to the psyche ward that night were it is policy to do a body check, the patient had NO marks other than redness on the ankles and wrists from the restraints. My main question or point is it is clearly outlined in Illinois criminal law that the mere threat of violence is assault, correct? The mental health aspect doesn't play a part unless the person is schizophrenic or has some other disorder that separates them from reality. I have the legal right to defend myself if I feel I am threatened. I know all states are at-will employment but if they fire me on the grounds that I struck the patient, do their policies override state law? I think they are trying to go on the premise that I should of waited until the patient either struck me or swung at me, I should not of reacted only on the threat of violence. What should I do if I get fired over this?
